Friday, October 11, 2024

Bug-inspired Single-Panel Comics By Bernie Paquette (Vol VII)

Comics by Bernie and Nature! 

Laugh and Learn
De-bugging insects

   Vermont single-panel comics. Captions by Bernie, images by nature. Sponsored by the Insect Alliance, Solidarity for All Life, and our highly valued Local Pollinators. These comics introduced the term "Inverting" which means invertebrate watching as birding is to bird watching. 

Inverting is being outside, observing, experiencing

 the multitude, the diversity, the daily going ons of LIFE.

No bones about it, I am an 'inverter'!

Let's recognize our bond with all living species.
Bug-inspired comic #151 Oct 11, 2024
Peak Pink Foliage in Vermont
The Vermont fall leaves dazzle folks with color. But are you all (pink) color blind? Signed, dazzling colored caterpillar.

View more Hooded Owlets here

Bug-inspired comic #150 Oct 4, 2024
A Rip in Time
A long way to go 
and a short time
to get there.
I am coming apart
torn 
of wear
of this, I must bear
hold on by a thread
to get to my resting 
bed.
View more Tiger Swallowtails and Allies here.

Bug-inspired comic #149 Sept 28, 2024
EYE EXAM
A wary spider goes to see an optometrist. "Hey doc, I thought you told me to never put anything bigger than my elbow into my eye?" exclaims the patient. The optometrist replies "I can see more patients (up to 8 at a time) if I use my feet to poke, (oops, I mean examine) your eyes". 

Optical jokes just get cornea and cornea!
View more "eye exam" photos here.


Bug-inspired comic #148 Sept 21, 2024
Freckles
A girl without freckles
is 
like a night without stars.

 Summer without Monarchs
is
like all the stars
are falling.
View more Monarch photos here.

Bug-inspired comic #147 Sept 14, 2024
"Wow, those Mosquito Dunks
are deadly even without coffee".
Photo: Eastern Treehole Mosquito Aedes triseriatus

EEEV (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. The primary EEEV vector is a swamp mosquito called the black-tailed mosquito (Culiseta melanura). It transmits the virus to birds or becomes infected by feeding infected birds in their swampland habitat. One of the most likely EEE vectors to people is the “cattail mosquito” (Coquilleta perturbans) which breeds in cattail marshes, but disease transmission can come from several other floodwater mosquito species that most commonly occur in coastal or swampy areas. (Reference: Virginia Dept of Health). Read more at the VT Dept of Health website. 

Read about the Black-tailed Mosquito Culiseta melanura here, the Cattail Mosquito Coquillettidia perturbans here,  the Asian Bush Mosquito Aedes japonicus here, and the Eastern Treehole Mosquito Aedes triseriatus here
Here's how to effectively kill mosquitos without harming pets, people, or other insects.
Mosquito dunks are an inexpensive product, a natural bacterium (Bacillus thuringiensis) that kills aquatic mosquitos without killing other insects. Kills larvae that would otherwise then become adult mosquitos. Non-toxic to pets and humans. The product is available at local hardware stores.

References:

Bug-inspired comic #146 Sept 7, 2024
EarthBound
We come from the earth; we return to the earth, and in between we garden.

See what is under the covers - from green to blue - a closer look is often rewarded -View the underside at Splendid Earth-boring Beetle Geotrupes splendidus

Bug-inspired comic #145 Aug 31, 2024
A penny for your thoughts
Well, the American penny is worth little. It is 97.5 percent zinc and only 2.5 percent copper. However, the American Copper butterfly is worth a visual pot of gold. 

*The penny was once composed mainly of copper, but since 1982 the United States Mint has made pennies from copper-plated zinc. View more photos of the American Copper (Lycaena hypophiaeas) here


Bug-inspired comic #144, Aug 24, 2024
One potato, two potato, three potato four.
Five potato, six potato, seven potato more. One potato, two potato, three potato, four.
I like mashed potato, can I have some more?
Read about the Colorado Potato Beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata here. View more photos of the Colorado Potato Beetle here

Bug-inspired comic #143, Aug 17, 2024
Eat a tomato at night
and you'll keep the unhappy gardener at bay
 improving your plight. 

View more Carolina Sphinx or Tobacco Horn Worm (Manduca sexta) here. Also, view the beautiful moth it becomes.
Read about them here. (Many interesting aspects to their various instar or life stages). 

Bug-inspired comic #142, Aug 10, 2024
Green with Envy
A California frog, green with envy flew to Vermont. 

Ladies and gentlemen, Vermont River High Airline welcomes you to Plainfield, VT. The local flood stage is at 99.9 feet

Upon exiting the frog wisely avoided all roads.

The California frog is now hanging on as best it can on the floodplains - Stuck in Vermont.

View more Green Frogs here
Read about them here.                                                             
Bug-inspired comic #141, Aug 3, 2024
Dogbane Leaf Beatle Days of Summer
It's so hot the Statue of Liberty was asked to lower her arms. 
Well, dogbane it,
I am keeping my appendages up
and my underparts aired out.

View more Dogbane Leaf Beetles here
Read about Dogbane Leaf Beetles here. 


Bug-inspired comic #140, July 27, 2024
Clearwing Sunscreen
 for the best protection under the sun
It's not working
I am 
melting!

View more Clearwings and Bee Hawkmoths here
Read about Hummingbird Clearwings here. 
Read about Snowberry Clearwings here. 


Bug-inspired comic #139, July 20, 2024

Look up - what do you see?

Blue dashers

looking at me

nothing but blue dashers 

that's what I see :)

(Quote by Susan Growmore)



View more
Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis) on iNaturalist here
Read about them on iNaturalist here. 






Continue Laughing and Learning with more Bug-Inspired Comics

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Rivers bring Flooding, Disruption, but also Serenity and Art

 

Winooski River nature art at Volunteers Park in Richmond, Vermont. 


Sometimes the river brings flooding, sometimes the river brings art, and sometimes it brings both.


With more frequent severe weather-related events coming, can we find in ourselves the ability to still see the good in the challenges we face?


Lead us to Nature
we will never again
be lost.  

- Bernie

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Biodiversity Observations September 2024 Report: Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, Vermont

Enjoy the benefits of connection with nature. 
Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, (VT) 
 Biodiversity monthly report.

JURBIC BIODIVERSITY REPORT

JURBIC  iNaturalist Numbers




Leaderboard (no. of observers)

View Photos by town
View Jericho insect observations in Sept here.
View Underhill insect observations in Sept here.
View Richmond insect observations in Sept here.
View Bolton insect observations in Sept here.


 Will you report your observations on iNaturalist?
Links below are short videos on how to upload observations to iNaturalist. Tutorial from North Branch Nature Center. 
iNaturalist: uploading observations using desktops and laptops
iNaturalist: uploading observations with mobile devices
View the latest observations posted on iNaturalist at JerichoUnderhillRichmond, and Bolton.
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View PLANTS observed growing in Jericho here, in Underhill here, in Richmond here, in Bolton here.
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Observing the behavior and the life cycle of insects is like getting to know someone as an individual vs. knowing them by name and infrequent contact only.

 - Bernie

View the 2023 iNaturalist observation numbers at Discovering Life in Jericho - 2023 by the Numbers

The Eight Major Orders of Insects

There are 26 orders of insects, but the vast majority belong to only these eight. Below is a short guide to the identification of the eight major orders.

        Beetles Coleoptera (“sheath wings”)

  • -  largest order of living things with over 290,000 species known worldwide
  • -  two pairs of wings, but the outer pair is hardened covering the top of the body and meeting in a straight line down the back.
  • -  have “chewing jaws”
  • -  metamorphosis is complete

    Moths, Butterflies Lepidoptera (“scaly wings”)
  • -  second largest order of insects (beetles are #1) - mostly moths
  • -  two pairs of wings covered with small scales that rub off easily
  • -  only insects with sucking mouth parts in the form of a coiled tube.
  • -  in the larval stage, most butterfly and moth species feed on leaves, often of a particular plant or related group of plants
  • -  metamorphosis is complete

    Bees, Wasps, Ants Hymenoptera (“membrane-winged”)
  • -  third largest order.
  • -  have 2 pairs of thin, clear, membraneous wings.
  • -  females have a well-developed egg-laying organ and/or stinger at the end of their abdomen
  • -  ants have wings only at certain stages of life, some have stingers, too
  • -  considered the most highly evolved order of insects.
  • -  Most wasps are parasites; their young hatch and develop inside the bodies of other insects or spiders. These parasites are our chief ally in the control of many pest insects.
  • -  Bees and wasps are important pollinators of food crops and other plants.
  • -  metamorphosis is complete

    Flies, Mosquitoes, Gnats Diptera (“two wings”)
  • -  fourth largest order (third in North America)
  • -  if an insect has just one pair of wings, it is a fly of some kind.
  • -  all adult flies have sucking mouth parts
  • -  metamorphosis is complete

    Crickets, Grasshoppers, Locusts Orthoptera (“straight wings”)
  • -  thin, leathery forewings that cover larger hind wings that are folded like a fan when at rest.
  • -  important food for birds and other insect eaters.
  • -  metamorphosis is gradual

Dragonflies, Damselflies Odonata (“tooth”)

  • -  2 pairs of long, narrow, membranous wings that are roughly equal in size.
  • -  they also have large eyes and extremely long, narrow abdomens.
  • -  at rest, dragonflies hold wings out flat, while damselflies hold wings together above
    their bodies.
  • -  adults feed on other insects (gnats, mosquitoes)
  • -  metamorphosis is gradual

    Aphids, Cicadas, Leafhoppers Homoptera (“same wings”)
  • -  2 pairs of membranous wings held in a tent-like or rooftop position over the body when at rest.
  • -  adults (except Cicadas) feed on plant sap
  • -  metamorphosis is gradual

    Bugs, Backswimmers, Water Striders Hemiptera (“half-wings”)
  • -  identified by a triangle on the back just behind the head. This is formed by the way the insects fold their forewings when at rest.
  • -  2 pairs of wings; hind wings are membranous, while the basal half of the forewings is hardened.
  • -  metamorphosis is gradual

    OTHER INSECTS OF IMPORTANCE 

Termites: small, soft-bodied, pale with short, straight antennae. Flying forms have 2 pairs of wings. Do not have constricted waist like ants. Have sophisticated societies - the queen may live 10 years. Most of the 41 species live in the SE. Eat cellulose of the wood fibers making them bad for buildings but valuable for breaking down dead wood in the forests.


Springtails: tiny, wingless with prominent antennae. The forked structure allows them to “spring” into the air. Among the most abundant creatures on earth, are millions per acre. Immensely beneficial in breaking down leaf litter and fungi into soil components. Include “snow fleas.”


Bristletails: wingless, crawling, terrestrial with long segmented antennae and 3 long “tails”. Include silverfish and firebrats. Eat decaying plants outdoors and starchy substances including books, wallpaper, and clothing indoors. Among the most primitive of insects.


Reference: Peterson First Guides / Insects by Christopher Leahy Observing Insect Lives by Donald Stokes, 1983

Traditional research on pollinators has focussed on specific bee groups, such as honeybees and bumblebees (Kremen et al., 2002; Klatt et al., 2014; Lemanski et al., 2022). However, recent studies have demonstrated the equally critical roles played by other insect groups, including ants, beetles, bugs, butterflies, flies, and wasps (Rader et al., 2016; Rader et al., 2020; Requier et al., 2023).  - Masari Date, Yuya Fukano, Sayed Ibrahim Farkhary, Kei Uchida, Masashi Soga, (April 2024).